New Member

[dennis]

HI Folks,

 Id like to introduce myself, My name is Dennis, and Im from Raymond NH USA.

 Im new here but not new to flying RC, I have spent most of my flying  {12 years now} scratch building and kit building Nitro powered planes in the .40 to .60 size and decided im tired of running out to purchase the fuel, its a long drive and the fuel prices are getting outrageous!
SO I have just ordered a new Super cub with a spare Battery {both are lipos} it should be here in about 3 to 5 days, IM looking forward to making this jump to electric power.

I have been reading a lot of posts about strengthing the Cub and will do so before my first flight, I am contemplating the packing tape for the wing leading edges and wing tips and the saddle popsicle stick trick.

Any  mods I  make I gaurantee I will be re checking the CG! I may even cover the whole cub with econocote or any low temperature film covering before I do anthing to the leading edges and tail section for added strength.

All of my other planes are 4 channel with airlerons but I dont expect to much of a learning curve to make the transition,  I have forced myself to learn how to only use the rudder and elevators  to fly, even though I have airlerons on all of my fuel powered planes.

My only concern with such a light plane is stay away from windy days! ;-}

[flydiver]

Jun 4, 2014 16:38:21 GMT 1 dennis said:

I may even cover the whole cub with econocote or any low temperature film covering before I do anthing to the leading edges and tail section for added strength.

Don't do it. Adds excessive weight and can screw up the CG. For the most part this is a beginner's forum. They crash, then they get fixated on strength and reinforcement, sometimes turning into the SC into a brick, which makes it fly poorly and crash more.

Weight is critical in electric. You simply do not have the extended power:weight ratio you can get from nitro. You can get lots of power, or you can get extended run times, but you can't get both.

You should be able to fly a 3-ch trainer without difficulty. With 12 years experience, light to moderate wind should pose little problem. Go with it mostly stock and get a feel for electric. You should have no problem flying. The electrics confuse nitro guys.....actually for a good while they confuse everybody. But you have to get over your old engrained power concepts. They simply do not apply.

Welcome aboard Dennis.

[sham]

What Fly said.
Don't fall into the trap of over modding the plane.
Weight, as he said, is the killer of this style of plane. I've taped the leading edge of the wing. I've also cut the rear out of the battery box to avoid having to wedge the lipo in too tight. I added some ultra lightweight large wheels for grass use.

That's it. No reinforcements at all.

I've logged about 20 hours so far and no damage, even with heavy landings. Admittedly I've not crashed, but that's because (unlike some it seems ) I simply don't go near trees, lampposts etc.

My philosophy is don't waste time and money on making it fly badly, I'll just fix it if I break it. Its a tough little plane anyway.

With your experience, I doubt the strength is needed.
Welcome!

[Knackered Sailor]

Welcome Dennis

[dennis]

Thanks guys point well taken!

as a result I did some research on just how easy it is to fix this type of foam, and since I havent crashed any of my Balsa Nitro planes due to any pilot error in a very long time I will keep this thing stock! :-}

[Dparture]

Dennis -- Like you, a fellow New Englander here; unlike you, I'm just starting out with r/c aircraft (though I've owned R/C Laser model sailboats for over a decade)...

Thanks for highlighting some of the mods that have made it to the top of your consideration list as part of your intro post -- sounds like you've done a fair bit of research already.

I posted a poll as part of my new member intro here -- as a leftie I'm trying to get a sense for whether I'm crazy to try out Mode 3 or Mode 1 (in addition to Mode 2) -- would welcome your poll feedback and any other advice you might have on this... here's the link to my new member intro (and the poll):
New Member Introduction and Mode Poll

Cheers,
Dave
aka Dparture